With the completion of the Human Genome Project and the increasing volume of genetic sequence information available, genomics research and subsequent drug design efforts have been increasing as well. Many diagnostic assays and therapeutic methods utilize oligonucleotides. The information obtained from genomic analysis provides valuable insight into the causes and mechanisms of a large variety of diseases and conditions, while oligonucleotides can be used to alter gene expression in cells and tissues to prevent or attenuate diseases or alter physiology. As more nucleic acid sequences continue to be identified, the need for larger quantities of oligonucleotides used in assays and therapeutic methods increases.
To meet the increasing demand for nucleic acid synthesis, there has been an increase in the variety of designs, and the volume of production of nucleic acid synthesizers. Unfortunately, the currently available synthesizers are not designed to adequately meet the needs of the industry. Exemplary, nucleic acid synthesizers include the synthesizers described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2001/0001035 A1, published on May 10, 2001, and incorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes. Yet, this type of synthesizer has a significant number of drawbacks. In particular, available synthesizers are limited in their ability to efficiently synthesize large numbers of oligonucleotides. While synthesizers have been developed to simultaneously synthesize more than one oligonucleotide at a time, such machines are not efficient at the production of different types of nucleic acids simultaneously (e.g., different lengths of nucleic acids) and are unacceptably prone to performance failures and environmental contamination. Furthermore, available synthesizers are not suitably configured for use in large-scale nucleic acid production facilities or for automated nucleic acid synthesis. Thus, the art is in need of nucleic acid synthesizers that are safe, efficient, flexible, and are amenable to large-scale production and automation.